The Love Delusion
by ricegrainroses
Summary: Loki needs something which he himself cannot find or create so he plans to manipulate Tony Stark, the great inventor, by stimulating the illusion of love.
1. Prologue

**To do list:**

1. Escape punishment from Asgard – permanently.

2. Get revenge.

3. If convenient, take over Midgard properly this time.

**To do list (expanded):**

1:

Acquire some sort of armour which will render the user invisible at all times to the guard.

Achieve this by manipulating Tony Stark.

Manipulate Tony Stark effectively by casting a lust spell on him and stimulating the illusion of love.

2:

Split The Avengers (PROPERLY).

Secondly, cause the centre piece of the Avengers (Tony Stark) to do something unforgivable (betraying The Avengers) and cause the other members to attack the centre piece, thus falling apart and (hopefully) dying in the process.

Do this by making it appear as if Tony Stark has fallen in love with an enemy*.

Eliminate those who actually oppose a threat (Bruce Banner).

3:

Unlikely.

_*LUST SPELL NOTES: A close proximity between the caster and recipient firstly needs to be established. The better the relationship between the caster and recipient, the more effective the spell. Recipients may become suspicious if the spell is not cast gradually enough and may attempt to fight off the spell or the caster of the spell. Few magic wielders have attempted to use this spell predominantly due to it draining the casters' magical energy so dramatically._


	2. Chapter 1

Loki stands in plain public outside of a theatre somewhere in London, supposedly one of Earth's finest cities. Even the pigeons here are miserable. The grey birds peck at stray crumbs scattered on the ground, which is also grey because the rain has caused the whole of the pavement to reflect the sky. It doesn't look like a sky. A sky should look limitless and give a slight idea of just how big the universe is. Here, a layer of clouds is permanently obscuring the view and is only preventing the colour omitted from the sun from reaching the city, impossibly making it even greyer than it already is.

Loki is used to the metallic goldness of the buildings in Asgard but decides that he would hate this city anyway, even if he wasn't used to it.

Why this city is so valued by the mortals he cannot comprehend: even the people represent grey - they look as if they have had the life drained out of them.

He wonders how long it will take for SHIELD to notice him, he knows that he is in plain view of a surveillance camera and that SHIELD monitors them, so what's taking them so long? It's not as if he's being subtle! Despite having his armour taken from him when Thor dragged him back to Asgard Loki is dressed in an illusion of his previous armour.

It is alarming how many of the passing mortals look at him and smile vaguely, as if he is sat there for their entertainment. A few even toss a couple of strange round coins with a floating head imprinted on them at him.

But Loki isn't going to lose his temper over something so trivial.

After his grand escape from Asgard, he needs to stick to his plan to ensure that it pulls through, if he veers from it it will take longer and the possibilities of Thor showing up and ruining his plans (again) will grow, as does his punishment should he be sent back to Asgard.

Had he been Thor he would have run out of patience by now and would have - what was the Migardian phrase - something along the lines of charging into a situation like a bull in a china shop.

Loki spent these last few moments he would have before he would let SHIELD capture him running through every stage of his plan, checking for faults or any variables which he may not have considered and perfecting it (again). That's what made Loki so great at causing havoc: his plans were unpredictable, well strategized and carried out like a master chessman moving in for checkmate.

Thor never had the patience for chess. He'd move pieces based on pure instinct, he would only check for any immediate danger of his move and his only strategy seemed to be to get his main pieces to Loki's side. He'd never get succeeded. On the other hand, he technically had never lost against his brother because the child Thor would always tip the board over just when he heard the word 'checkmate' start to leave his brother's lips.

Loki decided that maybe SHIELD was strategizing even more than usual before they decided to attack. If they weren't, he would feel a little insulted.

Then he sees the glow of something in the distance, something red and moving very fast, leaving a fiery trail in the sky and coming towards him.

His lips curl upwards.

You can always count on Tony Stark to be the unpredictable part of a plan, thus making him the most predictable; he would not follow the plan.

Tony Stark had not followed the plans of Fury, he had however, perfectly complied with Loki's plans for him.

The rest of The Avengers (minus Thor) would only be a few minutes slower to arrive.

Loki moves to stand in the direct path of where the blur of red and gold is streaking towards. He closes his eyes, holds his arms out, and tilts his head back with a grin.

Even Loki doesn't know the specific details of what will happen at this stage of the plan; the outcome though will remain the same regardless as he has already gone through every possible scenario of the next few seconds.

He doesn't even have time to brace himself for impact and he hears a scream omitted from somewhere behind him before the suit containing Iron Man crashes into him and sends him sailing backwards.

Loki lies on the ground with a grin on his face. Tony Stark directs the suit to walk towards the fallen god.

It's strange for Tony to see the god lying on the ground, with a manic grin on his face (okay maybe the manic grin wasn't so unexpected but in light of the given circumstances it was) when he was pretty sure that this god was supposed to be locked up somewhere in Asgard. Or at least facing whatever punishment they gave him, rather than… Lying on the ground and waiting for Tony to shoot him.

Unsurprisingly, Tony is suspicious. It's like the god wants Tony to shoot him. Of course, this god is said to be the god of mischief and lies so it goes without saying that no doubt Loki has some trick up his sleeve.

Tony braces for an attack but none comes, instead Loki just lies on the ground with his eyes resting and the wide smile still in place.

He's about to shoot anyway, but every once in a millennia or so even the likes of Tony Stark has a niggling worry that gets the better of him. What if this was all a trick and anything he shot at the god would backfire? Why else would Loki let - hell - practically beg for Tony to shoot him?

Tony decides not to shoot anything and he closes his hand around Loki's throat with an iron fist in a way ironically similar to the position that Tony found himself in a few weeks earlier.

Loki does nothing in defence. He lets himself be picked up and the only change in his expression is when he opens his eyes.

"I really don't believe that you've suddenly lost your touch." Tony warns.

"Why ever not?"

"It probably has something to do with the way you're letting me do this and that I know that you can put up a decent fight."

Loki eyes the missile of Tony's which is aimed at him with greed.

"Undoubtedly." He pauses. "Assuming, of course, that the powers which I possess presently are the same as the powers that I possessed prior to my…Trip to Asgard."

"Nice try." Tony states. "If you weren't known as the god of lies I might have actually considered believing you."

Then he fires and witnesses the growth of greed in Loki's eyes for the split second before Loki is hit by a strong blast of energy.

Tony isn't stupid, but he is shocked all the same to see that they are both unharmed. Or relatively unharmed in Loki's case, he is once again positioned on the ground only looking ashen faced and more dishevelled this time.

"And I know for a fact you can do better than that." Loki taunts.

"You're right."

And he proceeds to launch a grenade at the god.

"What the hell, Tony?" Natasha Romanov scolds as soon as the two of them are left alone which, according to Tony, happened too soon. "Why couldn't you just wait for the rest of us?"

Tony shrugs.

"Probably a part of 'being unable to work it a team'."

"Thor is going to flip when he finds out."

"Who says that he is going to find out?"

"You know, when the entire Earth was threatened by a being who we thought was only fictional - did it not occur to you that it may come useful to research the so called 'god'?"

"Funnily enough, I was too busy doing my own research. I became an expert overnight in -"

"There is supposed to be some sort of 'all-seeing" guard in Asgard and I highly doubt that you blowing a hole in the stomach of the prince of Asgard will go beyond his attention."

Tony shrugs again.

"He's a threat! What was I supposed to do? Give him a piggyback and attempt back to Asgard?"

"Was he attacking you?"

"That's not the point."

"Was he offering any form of defense?"

"That's also not the point. He's supposed to be locked up in a cell in Asgard or whatever they do to their prisoners up th-"

"Torture?"

Tony stiffens.

"Like you wouldn't have attacked the guy who attempted to take over the planet at first sight."

"I don't need to deny it. I am innocent in this. You, however, will have Fury to deal with when he finds out."

"You mean he hasn't already?"

Natasha smiles for the first time that day and it is not a sight that puts Tony at ease.


End file.
